Mexican Pacific League: Yaquis de Obregon 7, Algodoneros de Guasave 4 (11 innings)

This was a crazy game. Guasave jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning in this one including an Ivan Araujo 2-run homer before Iker Franco put Obregon on the board with a 2-run homer in the 4th. Then in the 5th, the Yaquis struck for 2 more runs, including a Doug Clark RBI double to jump out to a 4-3 lead. That lead would hold until the 9th as David Reyes gave Obregon 7 innings allowing just the 3 second inning runs on 6 hits, striking out 5 while walking 9th. However, Japhet Amador led off the 9th for the Algodoneros with a solo homer off of Luis Ayala to knot the game at 4 and send it into extra innings. Ayala stayed in the game and recovered from the homer while the Algodoneros got flawless relief from Sean Gleason in the 9th and 10th as he retired 6 straight batters, striking out 5. But in the 11th, Adrian Ramirez came in for Guasave and it did not well as Clark greeted him with a solo homer to make it 5-4 Obregon. Ramirez hit a pair of batters before Franco bunted them to 2nd and 3rd. After an intentional walk and a strikeout, Willy Taveras delivered the finishing blow, lacing a 2-run double down the left field line with the third runner getting thrown out at the plate. Ayala struck out 2 working around a walk in the bottom of the 11th as the Yaquis won 7-4. Franco went just 1 for 4 with the aforementioned sac bunt, but he made the 1 count with a solo homer, his 8th of the MPL season.

Aguilas de Mexicali 7, Mayos de Navojoa 2

It’s a pity that Jon Weber is going off like this in the MPL when he’s already 34 years old. Weber went 2 for 5 with a run scored for Mexicali and now has a .389/.511/.472 line in his last 10 games and a .314/.409/.438 line in 61 games on the season. He’s been incredible just about the whole way through and it would be amazing if his performance gives him one last invite to a big league camp. On the other side, Wes Bankston‘s recent struggles continued as he went 0 for 4.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico): Gigantes de Carolina 11, Atenlenses de Manati 4

Jesus Feliciano was nothing special for the Rays’ Triple-A Durham affiliate in 2012, managing just a .270/.312/.326 line with 1 homer and 8 stolen bases despite making 466 plate appearances, but he’s been solid in the RCPBL, going 2 for 4 with a walk for Carolina in this game and managing a .284/.358/.336 line on the year with 6 of 7 stolen bases and 13 walks against 9 strikeouts. Felipe Lopez also went 0 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored for the Gigantes while Eddie Morlan worked around a walk with a strikeout in an inning of work.

Venezuelan Winter League: Cardelanes de Lara 5, Leones del Caracas 4

Daniel Mayora has received very sporadic playing time for the Leones but had a pretty good game making a rare appearance out of the two-hole for Caracas in this one, going 1 for 4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Romulo Sanchez got into the game for Lara, striking out 1 while allowing a hit in a third of an inning.

Caribes de Anzoategui 5, Bravos de Margarita 3

Neil Schenk pitched well in this one, retiring both batters he faced. He has a great 2.35 ERA in 12 appearances for Margarita, but he hasn’t struck anybody out, fanning just 2 while walking 2 in 7.2 innings, and he also hasn’t forced much contact on the ground, managing just a 1.40 groundout to airout ratio. Schenk’s inability to miss bats or force weak contact even as a lefty is likely why he’s no longer in the Rays organization.

Aguilas de Zulia 12, Tigres de Aragua 8

The Aguilas did not exactly get dominant pitching in this one even as they were victorious, allowing 8 runs and walking 8 versus just 5 strikeouts in the first 8 innings of the game. Ryan Reid finally provided some stability at the end of the game, allowing a walk and a hit in the 9th but striking out the side as Zulia won 12-8. Reid has been sharp all season for Zulia, going 1-1 with a 2.05 ERA, a 26-7 strikeout to walk ratio, and 8 saves in 21 appearances and 22 innings pitched. He’ll play 2012 in the Pirates organization.

Dominican Winter League: Tigres del Licey 5, Gigantes del Cibao 4

Even in Winter League, you can’t be perfect. Joel Peralta had tossed scoreless ball with 4 strikeouts in 3 innings for the Gigantes, but Wednesday night did not go as well as he allowed a solo homer to the Angels’ Erick Aybar for what turned out to be the winning margin in the game. It’s the middle of the offseason anyway and it was a big leaguer that hit it, so no real reason for concern. Remaining unhittable was Juan Cruz for Licey as he went 2 shutout innings allowing just a hit while striking out 3. He’s tossed 6.2 innings for Licey allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 11. Rest assured he’ll get another minor league deal with an invite to big league camp. Rhyne Hughes also went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored for Cibao.

Toros del Este 6, Aguilas Cibaenas 5

Heartbreaking loss for the Aguilas as they blew a 5-0 lead in the 9th. Hector Luna slammed a solo homer and Manny Ramirez went 1 for 4 in the loss. Luna has had an impressive showing for Cibaenas, posting a .306/.411/.520 line with 12 doubles, 7 homers, 25 RBI, and a 30-29 strikeout to walk ratio in 46 games. He’ll play next year with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan.

Leones del Escogido 4, Estrellas de Oriente 0 (11 innings)

The Leones scored 4 runs in the 11th to come away with the victory in this one. Willy Aybar was moderately better in his second straight start for Escogido, going 1 for 5 with an RBI that gave Escogido a 2-0 lead in the 11th, while Julio Lugo went 1 for 4 with the 4th and final run scored.

Mexican Pacific League: Venados de Mazatlan 7, Yaquis de Obregon 1

Henry Mateo has been in the Venados lineup for only 10 games. He has already made his mark. Mateo had another huge game in this one, going 4 for 5 with a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored to help lead Mazatlan to an easy win. Since going 0 for 5 in his first game for the Venados, Mateo has gone a ridiculous 17 for 41 (.415) with 3 doubles, a triple, and 5 RBI. Iker Franco went 1 for 4 for Obregon in this game.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico): Cangrejeros de Santurce 6, Gigantes de Carolina 3

Felipe Lopez has apparently switched from Santurce to Carolina, and he got off to a good start in his first game with his new team, slamming a solo homer as part of a 1 for 4 game. Jesus Feliciano also went 3 for 4 with a run scored in the loss for Carolina. He’s 13 for 38 (.342) in his last 10 games.

Venezuelan Winter League: Aguilas del Zulia 4, Caribes de Anzoategui 3

Alex Torres got the start for Zulia and had good stuff but terrible luck (and possibly defense). Torres allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in just 4 innings, and his groundball to flyball ratio was only 4-8. The curiosity: he allowed a pair of “flyball singles” and an infield one as well. In any event, Torres struck out 7 while walking 2 and that’s a good sign. He has a crazy 78-24 strikeout to walk ratio in 55.1 innings pitched. What’s funny about Torres’ strikeouts is that Ryan Reid came into the game in the 8th for Zulia to nail down the save and wasn’t so far away from matching Torres’ total, recording all five of his outs via the strikeout as he worked around 3 hits for the 1.2-inning save. His strikeout to walk ratio is also very impressive as 22-6 in 20 innings.

All-Star Game: Dominican Winter League All-Stars 8, Venezuelan Winter League All-Stars 2

Come on, Henry! Henry Wrigley would have been the VWL All-Stars’ third baseman in this one but went home a few days ago and they had to plug in the singles-hitting Mario Lisson instead. Luckily, though, he had a great experience in Venezuela.

Gonna miss the fans and my teammates. You guys made me feel at home the whole time. #bittersweet #leonesfans @leones_cbbc

— henry wrigley (@HenryWrigley) December 11, 2012

How about the Rays who actually did play? Cesar Suarez replaced Jose Altuve at second base for the VWL All-Stars and went 1 for 2 while Ryan Reid worked around a pair of hits to toss a scoreless 5th inning for the VWL All-Stars, striking out 1 in the process. Suarez, though, made a key error in the 7th inning that led to 2 unearned runs and put this game out of reach. Still nice to see Suarez and Reid playing well enough to be All-Stars, and good luck to Reid in the Pirates organization and Suarez wherever he ends up.

Mexican Pacific League: Venados de Mazatlan 5, Aguilas de Mexicali 4

Mexicali came on strong at this end of this game, but Matt Buschmann held them off at the end to preserve Mazatlan’s 5-4 victory. Entering the 9th with a 5-3 lead, things got sketchy immediately for Buschmann as a Michel Abreu groundball went through the right side of the infield for a single then a Luke Montz double gave the Aguilas the winning run at second base. But Buschmann forced Oscar Robles to fly out, scoring a run, before striking out Issmael Salas and forcing Geronimo Gil to pop out to complete his first save of the MPL season as Mazatlan won 5-4. Buschmann had a rough outing, but he threw 12 of 17 pitches for strikes and composed himself very well at the end. Buschmann has a chance to appear out of the bullpen for the Rays this season- although it’s unlikely he’ll ever be closing games. Jon Weber went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored for Mexicali in this one.

Yaquis de Obregon 12, Caneros de Los Mochis 2

A recent slump relegated Iker Franco to bench duty, but he had a nice game in this one, going 2 for 4 with a run scored. He has actually been rock-solid overall in the MPL, posting a .265/.346/.455 line with 6 homers, 22 RBI, and a 34-18 strikeout to walk ratio in 43 games. Cesar Carrillo also appeared for Obregon and was great, striking out 2 in a perfect inning. We’ve never mentioned Carrillo before. What does he have anything do with the Rays? Nothing direct, but he has the same first name as Cesar Ramos and was selected by the Padres 18th overall in the 2005 MLB Draft, 17 picks before those same Padres selected Ramos 35th overall. Close enough.

Naranjeros de Hermosillo 12, Mayos de Navojoa 4

Jorge Cantu‘s power tear may be just a transient glimmer of the player he used to be. Whatever it may be, it’s not over yet. Cantu had another great game for Hermosillo on Tuesday night, going 2 for 4 with with yet another homer and 2 RBI. Cantu has a crazy .361/.415/.917 line in his last 10 games with 6 homers and 18 RBI. Wow. On the opposite edge of the spectrum, Wes Bankston has really cooled off and he went just 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts for Navojoa in this game. He’s hitting just 8 for 37 (.216) in his last 10 games as his plate discipline has fallen apart. Possibly the most impressive part of Bankston’s overall MPL numbers is his 31-21 strikeout to walk ratio, but he’s at just 9-2 in his last 10 games. It always very frustrating to be in a slump, but Bankston has to relax and get his approach at the plate back to get out of it.